Hope their badge pickup process is better than that at DragonCon. After spending four hours in line to pick up a badge I paid for six months before, I said never again. But friends convinced me to go the next year... same messed up process. Think they were running the whole thing with a Commodore 64, Star dot matrix printer, and a couple of soup cans attached with string. Not sure why cons are so addicted to the whole membership facade anyway. What's wrong with tickets and the mail? Works for almost every other entertainment option out there.

Not to sound like one of those "it was better before it was cool" people, but honestly, it was a lot better convention to go to when it wasn't so overcrowded that you can barely move through the main hall and you could buy a badge the day of the event because they didn't overbook the thing.

Constantly having to brush up against hordes of people in that hot, sweaty hall...not pleasant at all. It doesn't help that all of the comic book stuff gets hidden away in a corner. Or that the rooms that they hold the panels in don't get emptied out after each panel, so you would be forced to camp out an entire day in one room or you miss a panel for something you have a genuine interest in because the room is full of people waiting for say, a Twilight panel at 4:00.

Plus, of course, price gouging at the hotels. (Last time I didn't stay overnight rather than pay $400+ for a crappy room a half hour away from downtown.)

/done venting//Did anything ever come of some comic book people trying to start up a new convention?

Nickster79:Will be attending for the first time this year...assuming I can snag a badge.

Any tips for a noobie on making sure I get one? I've already sacrificed a goat and planned to stay home hitting F5 repeatedly on that day.

Make sure you have the computer on and ready to go to the link given at 9am PST. If you're lucky, you'll be put in their digital waiting room to get a ticket. At that point, just wait until it's your turn to get tickets, and hope the day you want is available, or any day for that matter. I won't be surprised if it goes bad on the first attempt like last year. I didn't get mine until their third sale day which wasn't until around May.

Luckily, having gotten mine last year, I was given the early opportunity to get one this year, which I took advantage of.

NotEric:Not to sound like one of those "it was better before it was cool" people, but honestly, it was a lot better convention to go to when it wasn't so overcrowded that you can barely move through the main hall and you could buy a badge the day of the event because they didn't overbook the thing.

Constantly having to brush up against hordes of people in that hot, sweaty hall...not pleasant at all. It doesn't help that all of the comic book stuff gets hidden away in a corner. Or that the rooms that they hold the panels in don't get emptied out after each panel, so you would be forced to camp out an entire day in one room or you miss a panel for something you have a genuine interest in because the room is full of people waiting for say, a Twilight panel at 4:00.

Plus, of course, price gouging at the hotels. (Last time I didn't stay overnight rather than pay $400+ for a crappy room a half hour away from downtown.)

/done venting//Did anything ever come of some comic book people trying to start up a new convention?

Wizard World, the monthly one in Los Angeles, and I think there is one more annual one in Long Beach.

EngineerAU:Hope their badge pickup process is better than that at DragonCon. After spending four hours in line to pick up a badge I paid for six months before, I said never again. But friends convinced me to go the next year... same messed up process. Think they were running the whole thing with a Commodore 64, Star dot matrix printer, and a couple of soup cans attached with string. Not sure why cons are so addicted to the whole membership facade anyway. What's wrong with tickets and the mail? Works for almost every other entertainment option out there.

When did you last go? It has been much better the last couple years with the barcode system. First year of bar codes, I arrived at registration around 7pm Thursday. I never once stopped until I was getting my barcode scanned. In/out in under 2 minutes.

Last year, arrived around 10am Thursday. The line was wrapped around the building so I went off and picked up supplies (liqueur, etc) and came back around 2pm. In/out in maybe 5 minutes and I heard the line in the morning was cleared in about 45 minutes.

I am so glad we moved from San Diego. My husband would go to comic con every year. He would bring home bags of trash they give out. Nothing but geek shwag. The bags would end up in the back of the closet never to be touched again but also never to be thrown away because he had a freakish attaachment.

As much as I have long-ago grown tired of rushing against the mob just to get a chance to stand under the hot blazing San Diego sun in line with hundreds of thousands of sweaty unbathed fanboys, I may one day return, just for old time's sake.

At least with Comic-Con, you know your ticket money won't be used for sponsoring a child molester.

HotWingAgenda:Every year I hear stories about Comic-Con moving away from San Diego because the Convention Center sucks. I guess it's like the Chargers of nerddom.

actually, the convention center is nice. The problem is that Hollywood has taken over the con. Since 2002, the year I went, attendance increased from 64,000 (iirc) to over 130,000 last year. Hollywood farks everything up.

TV's Vinnie:Mike Chewbacca: The problem is that Hollywood has taken over the con. Since 2002, the year I went, attendance increased from 64,000 (iirc) to over 130,000 last year. Hollywood farks everything up.

That's I regard the REAL Comic-Con to have died back in 1992. Now they even have panels on Hawaii 5-O (DAFUQ???????).

That should say the LAST year I went. I don't think I skipped a year between 1994 and 2002.

Mija:I am so glad we moved from San Diego. My husband would go to comic con every year. He would bring home bags of trash they give out. Nothing but geek shwag. The bags would end up in the back of the closet never to be touched again but also never to be thrown away because he had a freakish attaachment.

I've always wanted to to SDCC but after seeing video & talking to friends that went last year I'll probably never go. I went to a Wizard World last year & I loved it. It was my first con. Thinking about going to another con in May.

From what I hear NYCC is just as bad as SDCC. A friend waited all day long to see the TWD panel & never got in because they don't empty the room between panels. They also only sold only 50 autograph tickets & didn't put a limit on how many you could buy. Some biotch bought 40 of them. So basically 11 people got autographs. :/

After hearing my friend's story of last years D*Con I probably won't go to that either. Someone stole her badge & they accused her of selling it or sneaking it to a friend to get them in. They were really rude to her. I'd much rather give my money to Wizard World. They were really great. I got the TWD VIP & breezed through all the lines I wanted.

The odd thing was the Situation was at WW Austin. Dfuq?!? I still have no idea why he was there. Last time I checked Jersey Shore had nothing to do with geek culture. Then again I've never seen an ep of it. So I have no idea.

EngineerAU:Hope their badge pickup process is better than that at DragonCon. After spending four hours in line to pick up a badge I paid for six months before, I said never again. But friends convinced me to go the next year... same messed up process. Think they were running the whole thing with a Commodore 64, Star dot matrix printer, and a couple of soup cans attached with string. Not sure why cons are so addicted to the whole membership facade anyway. What's wrong with tickets and the mail? Works for almost every other entertainment option out there.

Fan Expo did that for a long time, then they finally let you have a mail option.

It's something like 10 to 20 extra bucks but WORTH IT.

It does take money to do the whole mail thing, but cons really should just make it an appropriate surcharge.

HotWingAgenda:Every year I hear stories about Comic-Con moving away from San Diego because the Convention Center sucks. I guess it's like the Chargers of nerddom.

I really want them to.

I got to conventions many to shop and listen to panels, but I heard at comic-con the convention rooms aren't emptied out every time so you get people sitting in them all day to attend the one panel they want. Would it even make sense for me to go?

IMHO they should sell tickets to the popular panels so they don't have this problem and to prevent this from happening.

nimawai:I've always wanted to to SDCC but after seeing video & talking to friends that went last year I'll probably never go. I went to a Wizard World last year & I loved it. It was my first con. Thinking about going to another con in May.

From what I hear NYCC is just as bad as SDCC. A friend waited all day long to see the TWD panel & never got in because they don't empty the room between panels. They also only sold only 50 autograph tickets & didn't put a limit on how many you could buy. Some biotch bought 40 of them. So basically 11 people got autographs. :/

After hearing my friend's story of last years D*Con I probably won't go to that either. Someone stole her badge & they accused her of selling it or sneaking it to a friend to get them in. They were really rude to her. I'd much rather give my money to Wizard World. They were really great. I got the TWD VIP & breezed through all the lines I wanted.

The odd thing was the Situation was at WW Austin. Dfuq?!? I still have no idea why he was there. Last time I checked Jersey Shore had nothing to do with geek culture. Then again I've never seen an ep of it. So I have no idea.

If you're looking for another well run con I suggest fan expo in Canada. Mailed tickets, pretty good panels and guests, and Canadian politeness.